Anne Heche died Sunday after being removed from life support, just over week after she crashed her car into a home in Los Angeles and it caught fire with her inside."We have lost a bright light, a kind and most joyful soul, a loving mother, and a loyal friend.
Anne will be deeply missed but she lives on through her beautiful sons, her iconic body of work, and her passionate advocacy," her family said in a statement prepared ahead of her death. "Her bravery for always standing in her truth, spreading her message of love and acceptance, will continue to have a lasting impact."Heche, 53, suffered a "severe anoxic brain injury" during the crash, according to a statement from her family.
Such an injury is caused by a sustained lack of oxygen to the brain.Surveillance video posted on social media showed the car speeding down the residential street just prior to the crash, which sent Heche's blue Mini Cooper completely into the home.RELATED: Anne Heche: California salon owner details seeing actress an hour before fiery car crashLast week, police said they were investigating Heche for driving under the influence.
Detectives with a search warrant took a sample of her blood and found narcotics in her system, LAPD spokesperson Officer Jeff Lee said.Heche was declared brain dead on Friday, but doctors kept her on life support in hopes of fulfilling her wishes to find recipients for her organs.